We have a new sponsor on Matteson Avenue. NW Natural is a great group of folks and they are serious about education and training! www.MattesonAvenue.com


 Road Improvements  

“A Unique Christmas Story”
By Mark Matteson

My name is Mikey. I am eleven years old. I was a year old when we got Anna. Dad surprised us Christmas morning. We went on a long drive and ended up with this puppy. Mom chose the name Anna from an old Beatle’s song she and Dad liked when they were my age. At least that’s what my parents told me. I really don’t remember back that far. Anna was just always there, you know, a part of our family.

She was cuddly and warm and she smelled like all puppies do, good. I never understood why Dad used to get so mad at Anna. One Christmas about four years ago, Mom planted two new palm trees in the barked area by the pool. She was all excited. Anna ate them down to the ground the next day!

Dad laughed out loud at first, then pretended to be mad at Anna for Mom’s sake. Later that day, Anna ate Dad’s Seattle Supersonics gardening pad. For desert, she had the portable phone! Now it was Dad’s turn to be mad.

“I hate this Dog” he would come to say every time she chewed something she wasn’t supposed to. The strangest thing she ever did was eat the Christmas lights, bulbs and all while they were plugged in! Mom said after that meal, she should have died. Anna was kind of a lucky dog.

I think all Dalmatians have a dark side, like Darth Vader. After she would do something she shouldn’t have, she would get this weird smile and her tail would wag real slow. It was kind of like when I do something I shouldn’t, like start eating before we say grace or take too many cookies for desert.

The funniest thing she ever did was almost as if she had planned it.  My Dad was going to save us a bunch of money. He bought a pool cover, a solar one. It fit over our in-ground pool. He said to my Mom that it was an investment with an expected return. (Whatever that is.) It had little bubbles on it he called solar pockets. They popped when you stepped on them.

It was supposed to heat the pool, anyway, Anna got in the pool area again and for some strange reason, ate a hole in the cover when it was on the reel. She ate it all the way to the metal, a hole the size of a large pizza. It was so good, she decided to have seconds. Two large pizzas!

Have you ever seen a paper doll before it was unfolded? Well so much for Dad’s new investment. The best part was when Dad rolled the cover out, instead of just two large pizzas, there were 22! Dad lost it that day. He threatened to make a coat out of her. I thought he was serious. I didn’t want an Anna coat. Mom talked him out of it. That was four years ago.

I guess that is what Mom meant when she would say Dalmatians are high strung. Mom and I were closer after that. We had a new hobby, making fun of Dad’s reactions to Anna’s high jinx. Since that day, Anna and I had become best friends. She could get away with a lot. Every day I took her for a walk, picked up her poop and fed her.

She had a bark that was something else. It was weird because if we forgot to feed her, she would bark a certain way like she was talking to us. If we were ignoring the bark, she would start pushing the metal dish around with her nose like a soccer ball, scoring goals against the side of the house until we got the message. Goal! Now they’re finally feeding me. Her face was so animated, that what it would say when we came outside with the food. That used to make Dad laugh. He used to pretend he didn’t like her but I knew he did.

One night Dad brought her home from the vet. The vet was a kind and caring guy named Jeff. He made house calls. He told us she was having seizures and needed medication. It worked great for a few days. Then one day it didn’t work anymore. She was seven when she died. That’s only 49 in dog years. Mom said she was too young to die, but that she was in a better place. We all wanted to believe that was true. I was the one that found her. I had just finished a baseball game. It looked like she was sleeping. When I called her name, she didn’t move. I touched her, she was cold. I got a strange feeling in my stomach. Mom called for Dad. He whistled his famous coach whistle, the loudest whistle known to man. She didn’t move.

Mom started to cry. I heard her and I started crying too. Dad’s face went pale. Mom kept asking ‘Why?’ Dad didn’t say a word. He left for a minute and came back with old blanket, her blanket.

Dad looked mad. It was almost like Anna was saying, ‘One more time, for old time’s sake, let’s watch the old man grumble.’ As he put her onto the blanket, his face changed. I had never seen my Dad cry before. He was crying over Anna. Anna the chewer, Anna the joker, Anna the pest, Anna the eater, Anna the pain in the neck, Anna our girl, Anna. He had to stop twice to cry really hard, shaking and trembling. Then I heard him say, ‘You know, I really loved that dog.’ I started crying all over again. I missed her already.

The next day, Mom said something that made me feel better. ‘It was just her time, I guess. Apparently an Angel in heaven needed Anna’s help.’ Later, Dad asked me to write down five great things about Anna in my journal. I opened my notebook and wrote:
1. She was great to watch running around the pool area when Dad was on the diving board jumping up and down, teasing her.
2. She was great to watch as she sniffed and sniffed on our walks.
3. She was great when she would put her head out the window in the car and sniff like crazy.
4. She was great when she made Dad mad. It was almost like her job, you know, her mission on earth.
5. ___________________________________________________________

I stopped writing. I couldn’t think of number five. Dad was calling my name. He had dug a hole and he asked each of us to drop some of her belongings in it. I put in her leash. My older brother Dave put in her food bowl, you know, her soccer ball. Mom slowly put in her blanket. Dad, crying put in a small piece of that solar blanket. We each said a little prayer for her and Dad filled up the hole with dirt. Just before Dad was done, Mom pulled two small palm trees from a box and planted them in the spot and covered them with new top soil.

We all cried some more. The tears weren’t as strong or as long as before.

Matt and I pounded the dirt around the new trees and Dad put a tombstone behind the new palm trees. I felt numb, like your mouth feels after a visit to the dentist. Except, my whole body felt that way.

As we walked away, Matt said to me, ‘Hey Mikey, I thought of the fifth great thing for your list.’ ‘What’s that?’ I said faintly. ‘Isn’t it great Anna’s finally doing some good. She’s up in heaven helping God grow those new palm trees!’

We all smiled. After a long silence, Dad said in a warm tone, ‘Yeah, Anna’s got a new job now!’ He wiped away his last tear, pausing briefly and finished with a smile, ‘I’m really gonna miss that old dog.’

I asked Santa for a new dog this year…then a stray cat showed up and stayed. She is as black as night. We call her “Christmas Coal”

I think she is friend of Anna’s. It’s going to be a nice Christmas.

 Did you know?

Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they're born.

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400

A dog's sense of smell is about 1000 times better than a person's. Dogs have a sense of smell that is one of the keenest in nature. Humans might smell a pot of stew cooking on the stove, but a dog can distinguish the smells of each individual ingredient, from the beef itself to the potatoes.

Dogs can also hear a lot better than us. They hear high-pitched sounds (like some insects make), that we cannot even detect.

The common belief that dogs are color blind is false. Dogs can see color but it is not as vivid a color scheme as we see. It is much like our vision at twilight.

"If your dog doesn't like someone you probably shouldn't either." - Unknown

Averaging some 16 hours a day, cats get more sleep than virtually any other animal.

Similar to the frequency of an idling diesel engine, cats purr at about 26 cycles per second.

Cats have a greater chance of survival during a fall that is 20 stories as opposed to 7 stories. The reason is because it takes them about 8 floors to realize what is happening, relax, and correct themselves.

Stroking a cat can lower one's blood pressure.

"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." ~Unknown

 One for the road

This month it's Short and Sweet: Click Here

  Watch "The Road" Buddy!

Christmas Carols for the Disturbed

Warning - If you are easily offended - Please look away

* 1. Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?

* 2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are

* 3. Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas

* 4. Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

* 5. Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....

* 6. Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me

* 7. Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

* 8. Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why

* 9. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent night, Holy oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?

* 10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells....


 The Boulevard

Now just released: "13 Secrets of World-Class Goal Achievers". Click for your fr*e*e copy!

PLANNING ON KEEPING YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS? According to Purdue University, and most experts, it’s not only important to have written goals, but you must have a plan to reach your goals.

Goals 2007 is the complete program to help you "create a life on purpose." Will 2007 be just another ho-hum year that started with good intentions? Or will it be YOUR Year! Your year to lose that weight you're tired of carrying...start that business you've been talking about...get out of debt for good. Are you tired of being stuck in the same gear?

Go see why one program graduate, Lucy O. said, "Breaking through, or at least finally recognizing, what my barrier is with writing goals, is a MAJOR accomplishment - one I've been trying to find for over 15 years! And I finally got it - I GOT IT!" Click Here

 The Wire's Conduit

This months Wire tip is about getting those pesky mini Christmas lights to work. This is the first step I take when I have a string and half of the lights are out. I leave the string plugged in and one by one I "flick" the bulbs that are off. Usually by the time I get to the the last one they start working and I find the culprit. I also use a Light Keeper Pro. You can get one at your local hardware store or on-line. Now why would I care so much about Christmas lights? Click here to find out why.

 Questions? email Kevin at kevin@mattesonavenue.com Have a web site? Need a web site? Need an update? Need an E-zine? Ask about our package plans. Ask about my fr*ee analysis for your site.

 

 End Construction  

Thank You again for your valuable time. We appreciate you!

If you enjoyed receiving E-Zine Street, consider forwarding it to a friend by clicking "Forward Email" below.